So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

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Originally posted by DHR
Do you think i should buy from a pet store dealing in them over the net, or a private dealer?
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Whichever is cheapest really, but you'll probably find that the best ones will be from online breeders
 
Try and buy from private breeders and hobbyists wherever possible.
This keeps the money "in the hobby" so to speak, and encourages private keepers to breed more. :)
 
Yeah, i was thinking more from the point of view the condition of the spider when i actually get it, cost doesn't really matter. I still need to get that fish tank down from the loft when i'm home!!

I want to give the spider more of a natural habbitat, hence the fish tank idea with a decent retreat. I'd feel bad invading the little things privacy everytime i opened the tank, i've been told that they tend to treat smaller tanks like they're entire retreat opposed to just a section of it.
 
Private breeders tend to be far more fussy about caring for their tarantulas - many pet shops are completely ignorant or uninformed of the tarantulas needs.
All spiders I've received in the post and sent out myself have arrived healthy and safe. :)
 
Originally posted by DHR
Yeah, i was thinking more from the point of view the condition of the spider when i actually get it, cost doesn't really matter. I still need to get that fish tank down from the loft when i'm home!!

I want to give the spider more of a natural habbitat, hence the fish tank idea with a decent retreat. I'd feel bad invading the little things privacy everytime i opened the tank, i've been told that they tend to treat smaller tanks like they're entire retreat opposed to just a section of it.
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As has been stated numerous times in this thread, a large tank will only serve to stress your spider out. The smaller the better! I had my new Avicularia purpurea in a slighly larger tub than he came in. All he did was sit on the side of the tank in hidey position all day. I moved him back into the film pot and he's completely webbed it up and is very happy.

Loads of space is NOT a good thing for tarantulas, despite what people might think.
 
Would you say they're difficult to get out of the tank though with it being so small? (you know lack of space to move around in etc).
 
Not at all. Did you look at the pics? Plenty of room to get your hand in there and scoop the T out - you don't need your whole torso in there to pick up a T ;) My method is generally to poke it up the bum with a soft paintbrush until it climbs the side and onto my hand though. It really is very important that you don't give your T too much room. It won't be able to find its prey (remember they detect by vibrations), and it will stress it out majorly. Twice its legspan wide and 3 times its legspan in length is plenty.

There is also the matter of safety. If you have your little spiderling in a big fish tank and he decides he wants to climb the sides (as they do) and falls (100% guaranteed - spiderlings suck at climbing) he could hurt himself very badly. Their abdomens are extremely fragile, and if you sling falls and ruptures it's abdomen, it's a gonner. This isn't so much of an issue with the arboreals, but with a terrestrial tarantula like a B. smithi, it's certainly worth considering. The sides of the tank should be no more than twice your spiderling's legspan.

Just to prove my point at the extreme end of the scale, here's my little 1/2" Avicularia purpurea in a 35mm film cannister. He is absolutely fine in there as shown by all the webbing. It might seem a tiny container from our perspective, but it's more than enough for him. I advise that you don't buy one this tiny for your first spider though because it's just too small - even I don't like it when they're this small.. I'm paranoid he's going to die on me. A nice 2" legspan would be a perfect size.
purpurea07.jpg
 
I'm after one after it can be sexed (so that should be around the 3rd - 5th moult i think?). At this point i presume thats the size it should be.

The only worry i had about the larger fishtank was that its too wide not too tall, the height can be limited by using pleanty of substrate (so i've been informed). I was planning on having a couple of suitable plants in there (in addition to the obvious retreat) after it had grown at least half of its legspan. I will be starting out with one of the recomended tanks from easy exotics with the 5" heat mat, i'm presuming that'll be alright. Do the larger young (like you've just recomended) need as much moisture as the spiderlings do? It stresses in the book i have to keep the tank very moist even if its not part of their natural habitat.
 
When I got bored with my Tarantulas I decided to have snakes. I came home one night and my vivarium was reading 110deg. I asked my Dad (who was babysitting my kids) if he'd noticed the snakes weren't very lively. Anyway, two of them were dead even though I tried to revive them in the bath !!!

The other one lived another 3 months before it escaped and now lives under the floorboards. We did see it about a month later but it escaped down the hole again. I think its probably dead now after four years or its living on rats and its 30 foot long.
 
It's sensible to give spiderlings and juveniles more moisture when they're small. However you should have no condensation on the sides of the tank even with a spiderling B. smithi. It will just need misting a couple of times a week and decent ventilation.

I can honestly say that there's not much point getting the fishtank out yet. It'll take it a good few months, maybe even years before it's ready to move to a larger tank.
 
Originally posted by Lostkat
I can honestly say that there's not much point getting the fishtank out yet. It'll take it a good few months, maybe even years before it's ready to move to a larger tank.
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Good good :D It'll take me a year or two to get to it anyway. You get up there and the scaletrix has to comes down ;)

Have you got any email addresses of people within the uk that are private breeder? I've found a couple through a few of the main sites but can't find any stocking young red knees at the moment :(
 
http://tarantulasmadeeasy.freewebspace.com/For sale.htm - 5-6cm ones. Good size. Not sure whether her site is still updated though

email this guy for prices and availability because his price list is broken on his website - [email protected]

http://www.vcheeseman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ - virginia cheeseman. Overpriced, but a good breeder. Check sizes before you buy as she has a habit of saying 'medium' when she means 2cm legspan. She will not sex for you either

http://www.coasttocoast.co.uk/live-stock.htm#spiders - again fairly pricey, and email to check size first

It's also worth emailing David Blades for a price list - http://www.davidblades.com/

.. and the spider's trap as they often have more stock than listed on the website
http://home.freeuk.net/thespiderstrap/

All are reputable dealers/breeders. That should give you somewhere to start anyway :)
 
Originally posted by DHR
- Taken from http://www.coasttocoast.co.uk/live-stock.htm#spiders

I'm beginning to think that its become a new trend for the typically docile to go on the occasional freak :)
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They're just covering their backs. Like I said, it's not uncommon to have a supposedly docile species turn into a complete psycho.


Originally posted by Nexus
They have Avicularia purpurea for £16.95! Very tempting... I would like an arboreal.
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I'd advise against getting a purpurea as your first arboreal. Firstly, because these slings are only 1cm in legspan (I emailed coast to coast when I was getting a purp), which really is too small if you've not kept them before. After getting my purp, I also found that there are hardly any caresheets on them, despite them having different keeping conditions to the other Avics. I was told by a well-respected breeder that Avicularia purpurea are notoriously difficult to raise from spiderling. If I was you, I'd get a different Avic first (maybe an Avic avic or versicolor) and learn how to keep that one before you consider a purpurea. Avics have a reputation for dying on you, but apparently purpureas are the worst. As a consequence, I am really worried about my little guy and wake up every day to expect him all curled up. I haven't even named him yet because I'm so paranoid :( Not nice!

Also, I got my purpurea sling for £8, so those ones are overpriced, especially seeing as they're only 1cm across! If you're still interested, give me an email.
 
Well I've had another two successful moults this weekend.
Firstly, Miguel shed,

Miguel has been premoult for absolutely ages, so I was glad to see him finally shed this weekend. He's grown a fair bit, but nothing like he used to - getting old now :D
I managed to get a good look at the shed skin, and I can say that Miguel is almost definitely a little boy - giving him probably less than 2 years to live. This means he'll be sent out on breeding loans when he eventually matures.

Here are the pics:

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Miguel21

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Miguel22

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Miguel23

In the last picture, the red arrow points to the important bit when sexing tarantulas. Generally, in females there is a pronounced ridge here - in males it is flat and untextured. No ridge here, so Migs is a boy.

The other moulter was Winston, my Trinidad Chevron. I can't really get any pics because his tank is so webbed up, but he's all pale grey and his legs are much longer than before.

Nexus, if you want an arboreal I'd go for perhaps an Avicularia avicularia, Avicularia geroldi, Avicularia metallica or Avicularia versicolor.
I know of someone selling small geroldi's for about a fiver.
 
Well, it seems Winston was up for some photos after all.

I coaxed him to the top of his tank for some pictures, but it seems he wanted to go a little further - I did the only thing I could - put my hand out and lethim walk up my arm. To my surprise, he was very calm and very slow, easier than holding an Avic.
Please bear in mind that Psalmopoeus is a generally defensive species prone to running and biting, do not try this at home unless you are aware of the risks!

Anyway, he behaved very well, and here are the pictures:

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Winston02

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Winston03

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Winston04

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Winston05
 
Originally posted by DHR
Looks lovely. *off topic* whats the yellow thing in the 2nd pic
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I *think* it's a jumper ;)


As I've not posted for a while, here's an update on Houdini (Red Rump), no picture unfortunately until I borrow a digicam again.

Firstly, I've gone from mealworms to crickets; as the mealworms kept burrowing into the peat & disappearing for days on end :rolleyes:

Houdini has extended his little burrow slightly & is currently munching anything put into his jar . I gave him two small crickets last night & he killed them & ate them at lightning speed!

I've exchanged about half of the peat with some dryer stuff as it was just a touch too moist after an accident with the water dish :rolleyes: Speaking of which, whenever I clear it out (coke bottle top) & fill it up… he pops along and fills it up with peat, very weird although I have heard of this before… I've also made the holes in the lid bigger to improve ventilation (but not too big ;)).

He seems to be quite nervous & whenever he senses a vibration, he shoots off into his little burrow. I haven't tried to handle him lately; I've just not had time to play :D


BTW what are these two caterpillar things crawling about in the bottom of my tub of crickets?
 
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